Acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based
electrodes are used for the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in high-temperature
polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HTPEFCs). To find the optimum PTFE content for the catalyst
layer, the PTFE ratio in the electrodes is varied from 25 to 50 wt%. To improve the
performance of the electrodes, PBI is added to the catalyst layer. With a weight ratio of
PTFE to Pt/C of 45:55 (45 wt% PTFE in the catalyst layer), the fuel cell shows good performance
at 150 ℃ under non-humidified conditions. When 5 wt% PBI is added to the electrodes,
performance is further improved (250 mA cm-2 at 0.6 V). Our 20 W class HTPEFC
stack is fabricated with a novel MEA. This MEA consists of 8 layers (1 phosphoric aciddoped
PBI membrane, 2 electrodes, 1 sub-gasket, 2 gas-diffusion media, 2 gas-sealing
gaskets). The sub-gasket mitigates the destruction of a highly acid-doped PBI membrane
and provides long-term durability to the fuel cell stack. The stack operates for 1200 h
without noticeable cell degradation.